Data mover feature

A data mover is a software component of Data Protection for VMware that moves data to and from the IBM® Storage Protect server.

Overview

In the typical VMware environment, the data mover is used to save virtual machine backups to a datacenter node.

When you install Data Protection for VMware, the data mover is included in the installation. The data mover is installed on the same system as the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI and other Data Protection for VMware components.

You can also install data movers on remote systems independently of the other Data Protection for VMware components to redistribute the backup workload among multiple systems.

Snapshot differential backup operations are not supported in the VMware environment. You cannot run snapshot differential backup operations of a file system that resides on a NetApp filer on a host where the Data Protection for VMware data mover is also installed.

Setting up data movers

For information about planning for, installing, and configuring data movers, review the following list:

Action	Description
Determine the number of data movers that are required to protect your vSphere environment.	Multiple data mover nodes might be required to protect your vSphere environment. To determine the number of data mover nodes that are required, see technote 2007197. This technote also includes considerations for using virtual or physical machines for data mover nodes and for data mover locality.
Install Data Protection for VMware.	To install Data Protection for VMware, run the Data Protection for VMware installer and select Typical Installation for Windows operating systems or Complete for Linux operating systems. This installation option installs all Data Protection for VMware components, including the data mover. For information about how to run the Data Protection for VMware installer, see Installing the Data Protection for VMware components.
Define the data movers for your environment.	When the Data Protection for VMware installation wizard completes, the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI configuration wizard opens to enable you to set up communication with the IBM Storage Protect server. On the Data Mover Nodes page of the configuration wizard, define the information for the local data mover and any remote data movers that you will install on separate systems. If you install on a Windows operating system and select Create Services when you define the data mover, the configuration information for the data mover is saved in a options file in the following location: `C:\Program Files\Tivoli\TSM\baclient\` In addition, the services that are required by the data mover are configured. If you install the data mover on a Linux operating system, or install on a Windows operating system, but do not select Create Services during configuration, you must complete the steps in Setting up data mover nodes with the vSphere plug-in GUI to create the options file and configure the required services.
Install and configure additional data movers on remote systems, if required.	To install a data mover on a remote system, run the Data Protection for VMware installer and take one of the following actions: On Windows operating systems, select Advanced Installation > Install the data mover feature only in the configuration wizard. On Linux operating systems, select Custom from the Install Set list in the configuration wizard. Ensure that Data Protection for VMware data mover is selected. This option is selected by default. When the installation is complete, to set up data movers on remote systems, follow the instructions in Setting up data mover nodes with the vSphere plug-in GUI.